Sir, – There is much confusion over how best to prevent a repeat of building failures. There is no one solution, but building a culture of compliance is what is required. For over a decade, the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has repeatedly identified the elements that are needed for an effective building control system. They are effective engagement by building control authorities, consumer redress through latent defects insurance, a register of competent contractors, independent inspection by qualified professionals and a public awareness campaign on the roles and responsibilities of all those involved in building.
From 1990 to 2014, we had no requirement under building regulations for an inspection and certification process during construction – there was no legal requirement to have any building professional involved in construction. The only certification was for fire safety certificates and disability access certificates, which only related to design, not construction.
With the introduction of Statutory Instrument 9 (SI 9) in 2014, for the first time there is a requirement for certification by those involved in building for the purposes of showing compliance with building regulations. The aspect of “self-certification” that allows an employee of the contractor/developer to be the assigned certifier is one that the RIAI has been calling for to be prohibited. These regulations are onerous and the State must play its part in resourcing building control authorities so that there is no “light touch”. This new regime is only part of the solution and will not work on its own, without the five elements that the RIAI has consistently identified.
The RIAI participated in the review of building control regulations earlier this year. We made eight specific recommendations for strengthening the system.
All of these were ignored and instead a new regulation (SI 365) allows one-off house developers to opt out of the building control regime. This two-tier system is not in the interest of the consumer and is like having an “opt-out” for certain cars from the NCT!
We fear that if our recommendations continue to be ignored, a new raft of defective schemes will be built during the phase of building now underway.
We call again on the Government to extend the review process beyond the issue of one-off houses and to engage urgently with our recommendations so as to ensure that all the elements of a robust, effective building control system are in place for the benefit of the quality of our built environment and for the protection of the consumer. – Yours, etc,
ROBIN MANDAL,
President,
Royal Institute
of the Architects of Ireland,
Merrion Square,
Dublin 2.